The present invention relates to a surgical scalpel and in particular to a periodontal scalpel wherein the blade is universally adjustable.
In the aforementioned patent application Ser. No. 831,801, the contents of which are incorporated herein as more fully set forth, a scalpel is provided having an elongated handle conveniently shaped in the form of a shaft, a blade located in a blade holder mounted at a distal end of the shaft, as to be universally adjustable. The blade is orientated in any one of a plurality of selected directions relative to the axis of the handle, namely, by relatively rotating the handle and blade about the axis of the shaft and/or swinging the blade in an arc subtended by the axis of the shaft and in a line perpendicular thereto, and correspondingly rotating the holder about its own axis. To effect this, the blade is held in a chuck having a ball-shaped base, which is set into a spherical socket formed in a cylindrical chuck housing, co-axially mounted at the end of the shaft. The end of chuck housing is cut in the form of a cleft defined by the axis of the shaft and perpendicular line. Mounted within the chuck housing is an operable stop member adapted to engage the ball and fixedly hold the chuck in its selected position. The stop member is operated by a crank mechanism located in the shaft-handle, which is operable and esaily manipulated by the operating hand of the surgeon during surgery via a lever extending along the surface of the shaft actuating an eccentric crank to cause the stop member to move axially within the housing into and out of engagement with the ball base of the chuck.
The present invention has as its object, the provision of an improved and simplified crank mechanism which greatly reduces the cost of manufacture and the ease by which the scalpel can be manipulated.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a scalpel having fewer and simpler parts permitting the scalpel to be disassembled and sterilized.
It is of course, the overall object of the present invention to provide a scalpel having in addition to the above, all of the attributes and advantages found in the aforementioned parent application.
The foregoing objects, together with others, will be apparent from the following disclosure.